The opinions referenced are as of the date of publication and are subject to change due to changes in the market or economic conditions and may not necessarily come to pass. Information contained herein is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted.

The BofA Merrill Lynch All U.S. Convertibles Index (VXA0), which is comprised of approximately 700 issues of only convertible bonds and preferreds of all qualities. The U.S. stock market is represented by the S&P 500 Index, an unmanaged index generally considered representative of the domestic large-cap stock market. Unmanaged index returns assume reinvestment of any and all distributions and do not reflect fees, expenses or sales charges. Investors cannot invest directly in an index.

There are certain risks associated with an investment in a convertible bond such as default risk --that the company issuing a convertible security may be unable to repay principal and interest --and interest rate risk --that the convertible may decrease in value if interest rates increase.